The sun bakes my back as the surf and palm tree fronds gently murmur in the tropical breeze. I'm half-snoozing through my novel when my friend Michel suddenly rolls across his towel toward me and says quietly with a hint of disgust in his voice: "There's someone on our beach."

I look up to see three locals in the tropical forest at the edge of the strand chopping firewood for a barbecue lunch. It is our fifth day in the Dominican Republic and the first time anyone else has ventured onto the long, pristine stretch of sandy Playa Caleton that has become our daily hangout. Clearly, we have become spoiled and territorial.

Five minutes later a blond girl with a big smile walks toward us carrying two freshly topped green coconuts filled with sweet juice. "My buddies and I offer this as an apology for invading your private beach," jokes Amy Watson from Maine, who is finishing up her stint as a Peace Corps worker with a Sunday beach picnic. "A bit of Dominican hospitality ... "

Like many people, when I think of the Dominican Republic, I think of the Caribbean country's string of all-inclusive resorts, gated communities offering First World amenities and a buffer from the developing country's issues; safe, but short on culture and individual experience. But when a friend raved about a sleepy seaside village called Las Galeras she had visited at the northeast tip of the republic's Samana Peninsula, it sounded like the off-the-grid getaway I was looking for: an exotic, unpretentious, comfortably safe outpost that had yet to be "discovered," with great beaches, friendly locals, acceptable accommodation, a few good restaurants, peace and quiet.

More Information

if you go

Getting There: The closest international airport is El Catey, a 1.5-hour drive from Las Galeras. Take a taxi, rent a car or prearrange a pickup. Many establishments do not take credit cards, but they do take U.S. dollars. Book excursions through your hotel.

Villa Serena: Las Galeras oceanfront. Secure and quiet colonial-style boutique hotel with 22 rooms, pool, garden and small beach near the center of the village. Also yoga and wellness retreats. Best place in town. From $120. villaserena.com.

M.P.

En route from the airport, our guide fills us in. If we want action, there is horseback riding, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking and whale-watching, as well as excursions to Cayo Levantado Island and Los Haitises National Park. If we just want to relax we can do so on some of the planet's best and least crowded beaches within shuffling distance of fresh seafood and world-class rum.

Just before the road literally ends on the sand of Las Galeras' waterfront, he turns left and drops us at our condo.

Apart from one all-inclusive, there are no big hotels in Las Galeras, just bed and breakfasts and small apartments.

Set in a lush tropical garden, our two-level unit has a loft bedroom with a main-floor living room and kitchen with louvered windows opening onto a patio surrounded by hibiscus. Owner Dominique Dufay from France is on hand to supply everything from snorkeling gear to extra kitchen utensils. Then we head "uptown" to shop.

Las Galeras is a no-frills village with a handful of souvenir/currency shops and restaurants, a couple of scuba outfitters and local art outlets including a co-op of 20 local painters.

The cliff-top El Cabito restaurant offers spectacular views out to sea and the best food in Las Galeras, according to Anthony Bourdain, who recently featured the spot on "No Reservations." Try the melt-in-your mouth calamari carpaccio marinated in garlic and olive oil, the snapper in coconut milk or the Spiny Lobster El Cabito. From our cliff-edge table we watch humpback whales breach and glide offshore on their migration every January to March. When we settle into a giant hammock in the shade of the thatch-roof bar, another round of top-notch mojitos arrives.

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As the sun dips to the horizon, we head back. "Tomorrow we head to Playa Rincón," my partner vows, and I laugh. Every evening of our stay we swear we will head by boat to one of the more remote beaches. And every morning we think of spending 30 minutes each way with a boatload of others, then pack our towels and stroll back to Playa Caletón. After all, can any tropical beach be better than one you have all to yourself?

Margo Pfeiff is a freelance writer. This story originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.